WATCH: Badosa Clarifies Animated Exchange With Her Box, Not Aimed At Boyfriend Tsitsipas
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Paula Badosa insisted she was not communicating with her boyfriend, Stefanos Tsitsipas when she became stressed during her third-round match against Marta Kostyuk at the 2025 Australian Open.
Tsitsipas was in the stands for Badosa's thrilling battle against Kostyuk. The WTA stars had several epic exchanges before the Spaniard eventually prevailed 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 after a lengthy battle on the Australian Open's Kia Arena.
Badosa has spoken several times about how much she enjoys having Tsitsipas at her matches. That included after her second-round triumph against Talia Gibson when she asked for the fans to give the Greek No. 1 a round of applause.
How much harder Kostyuk pushed Badosa than Gibson meant the 11th seed at the Australian Open, felt more anxiety on the court. That was clearly shown during a changeover, with the score at 3-0 to Kostyuk in the second set.
As shown in a video below, Badosa tapped her racket and furiously waved her arms in the air. The 27-year-old seemed to be indicating that she was struggling with the wind, which was strong during the match.
Tsitsipas can be seen moving his hands downwards and telling Badosa to "calm down." He has a little smirk on his face throughout, possibly because the two-time Grand Slam runner-up can relate to the stresses his girlfriend felt on the court.
It looked like Badosa was communicating directly with Tsitsipas when she pointed to someone in her team and offered them her racket, seemingly telling him to come onto the court and test how easy it was to calm down.
Tsitsipas being a fellow professional player meant it was understandable to assume the gesture was directed at him. However, Badosa replied to a video of the incident, stating the words and actions were to her coach, and asked for no drama to be created.
"I wasn’t with Stef it was with my coach that was in front of Stef. Let’s not try to create drama. Stef was the best supporter out there."
Two games later, after Kostyuk went 5-0 up in the second set, Badosa could be heard directly asking someone on her team if they wanted to take her place. Once again, most assumed she was saying this to Tsitsipas since he is an ATP player.
The on-court interviewer was among those who thought she directed it to Tsitsipas. Badosa clarified that those words were also to her coach and said Tsitsipas was supportive and probably even more nervous than she was.
"I was saying it to my coach honestly, but he was very supportive, giving me amazing tips to go for it, be aggressive. He was supporting me every point. I think he was more nervous than me, but I really appreciate his support."
Some may be skeptical about whether Badosa is telling the truth since it initially seemed clear she and Tsitsipas were communicating during the incidents. However, only Badosa and her team know the truth, and it is impossible to prove for sure that her words and actions were directed at Tsitsipas.
Baodsa will have Tsitsipas in the stands for all of her remaining matches after he lost in the first round of the men's singles and withdrew from the doubles.
